- Northern Thailand News
US Court gives go ahead for Musk to face defamation charges over cave spat
PHOTO: Vernon Unsworth v Elon Musk. by ThaiVisa American tech entrepreneur, investor, and engineer, Elon Musk, is likely to face a lawsuit in the US over defamation after he described a British cave diver as a “pedo guy” on Twitter last year. Musk also described Vernon Unsworth, who was one of the divers who first discovered the Mu Pa football team…
- Phuket News
Cycling enthusiasts launch Ranong as a southern tourism alternative
by Prasert Thepsri The Government has been keen to start boosting tourism outside the country’s hot-spots – the so-called ‘2nd tier tourist zones. So the neighbouring provinces of Phuket are now actively promoting their attractions to draw tourists heading to the southern island as a side-trip. Yesterday, hundreds of cycling enthusiasts joined a 38 kilometre bicycle ride which aimed to…
- Northern Thailand News
Maha Sarakham districts have no water at all, Phuket gets first decent rain for the year
Tap water has run completely dry in six villages in a Maha Sarakham district, right in the middle of Thailand’s north-east Isaan region, in what’s been described as the worst drought in 40 years. Tap-water sources dried up early this year for 689 households in Phayakkhaphum Phisai district and now all other surface and underground water sources have been exhausted…
- Northern Thailand News
Surin man first to die of Rabies in 2019
A 32 year old man in Surin province has become the first person to die of Rabies this year. The Disease Control Department director-general Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai says the man who was bitten by a stray dog last November but never sought an anti-Rabies vaccination. The man developed fever and had difficulty swallowing before lab tests confirmed he had Rabies,…
- South Thailand News
Family alleging sex abuse of four of their children may be forced to move
PHOTOS: The Nation A family who who have made official reports alleging that four of their children were sexually abused by an ‘influential’ local man in Chumphon’s Lang Suan district, claim they are being harassed and may have to move. They claim that three female family members, aged 6, 10 and 14, and their 9 year old boy, were sexually assaulted…
- South Thailand News
One killed, two injured in Pattani shootings
One person has been killed and two others injured during two separate shootings in Pattani province on Thursday night. In Sai Buri district, a 24 year old Narathiwat-based paramilitary ranger volunteer Pathompong Kaewthong and his 22 year old wife Nureehan Dengla, were shot and wounded in Tambon Kadunong while riding home on their motorcycle after shopping at a local market.…
- South Thailand News
Boat carrying a Bangkok school group sinks at Chumpon pier
A boat carrying up to 40 schoolchildren has sunk after hitting underwater rocks next to a pier in Chumpon province last Monday. The vessel “Mattha” was carrying around 50 people, including the group from a school in Bangkok on a snorkelling day trip around the nearby islands. But when the boat returned later in the day, the tide was out…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Freak storm batters Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok
A random summer storm has struck Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport this afternoon. The freak storm affected more than 18 flights and stranded 3,000 passengers whilst the storm battered the area north of the main city. At least one flight was re-directed to the nearby Suvarnabhumi Airport and another to U-Tapao Airport. Strong winds caused a Lion Air mobile airstair to…
- South Thailand News
Chumpon plantation owner faces accusations of child sex abuse
“Jan said ‘Surin’ often took her daughter to his home. When the girl was seven years old, however, it was revealed that ‘Surin’ had allegedly molested or raped her over the previous five years.” In the latest in a string of serious child abuse cases, relatives of the alleged victims, in this case three girls aged 6, 10 and 14…
- Thailand News
Driver killed and 10 Burmese workers injured in Tak crash
by Pipat Jongmeekwamsook A van driver has been killed and 10 migrant workers injured after the passenger van careered into a roadside ditch and hit a tree in Khamphaeng Phet in Thailand’s central west today. The 27 year old van driver was killed and 10 Burmese workers were injured when their vehicle crashed in Khamphaeng Phet’s Kosamphee Nakhon district early…
- Chiang Mai News
Police defend theft charges on British backpacker Chris Dodd
PHOTOS: Chris Dodd, BBC Police are defending their actions when they charged a British backpacker with theft after he picked up a mobile phone at Chiang Mai airport last February. 29 year old Chris Dodd spent 10 days in jail in February after he was charged with stealing the phone belonging to a German tourist and remanded in custody by…
- Bangkok News
Armed Mercedes owner releases snakes onto road outside Central World
PHOTOS: JS100 Radio An incident has caused bedlam and stopped traffic outside Central World in Bangkok. A man armed with a knife stopped his new black Mercedes in the middle of the road. He then started releasing snakes out of a blue bag onto the road in front of the bewildered passersby. Footage from the incident shared on Twitter shows the…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s seastead couple remain elusive
The Seastead may be under 24 hour guard at the Port of Phuket but the couple who were staying in the structure offshore from Phuket, and have become the international face of the seastead experiment, remain elusive. According to Phuket’s deputy police chief Pol Colonel Witoon Kongsudjai, their mobile phone signal identified the couple’s last known location as Tarutao Island…
- Thailand Election News
Thanathorn faces more charges from EC over media shares
Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the 40 year old leader of the new party, has cut short his trip to Europe over an ‘unexpected incident’ The Thai Election Commission yesterday unanimously resolved to press charges against Thanathorn over an alleged violation of Thai media shareholding rules. Citing investigations by two EC panels, Sawang Boonmee, the EC deputy secretary-general, told a press…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Phuket faces critical water shortages if the monsoon doesn’t arrive soon
Phuket is now, officially, experiencing water shortages, with water in the province’s three catchments just enough for the supply of tap water until the end of May, and the condition is expected to get worse if the annual monsoon doesn’t kick in soon. The annual south-west monsoon usually starts dragging in moist air and the ‘wet season’ begins sometime around…
- Northern Thailand News
Questions arise over specs of collapsed wall at school in Khon Kaen that killed 4 year old girl
by Kritmet Loho Khon Kaen’s governor Somsak Jangtrakul today led police and related officials to inspect a private school building in Tambon Ban Ped in the main city area. The building had partially collapsed during Monday’s hail and rain storm that hit the are, killing a four year old girl.Somsak revealed that an initial investigation shows the building construction hadn’t…
- Bangkok News
Thon Buri pub raid, 38 patrons test positive for drugs
Sur-PRIIISE! Troops and police have raided a nightclub in Bangkok’s Thon Buri district at 3am this morning and found that 38 of its patrons tested positive to illicit drug use. The Bangkok office of the Internal Security Operations Command conducted the early morning raid against the Wave Pub (formerly known as the Poseidon Pub) on Ratchadapisek Road in Talad Plu…
- Thai Life
Finance Ministry wants to give 1,500 baht to each domestic traveller
The Finance Ministry says they are launching a new stimulus package to boost the country’s domestic tourism by giving Thais 1,500 baht each to spend when they travel to 55 provinces under the promotion campaign. Under the campaign, Thais aged 18 and over can register for the program. The government will then deposit 1,500 baht into their accounts though the…
- South Thailand News
Pattani smuggler arrested with over 10,000 packets of illegal cigarettes
A man has been arrested in Pattani’s Mayo district after trying to smuggle 10,802 packets of foreign cigarettes. Police and Excise Department chief Itthipol Liabyainak announced the arrest of Yaman Pohleng, the owner of a grocery store in Tambon Sakhor Bon. Itthipol says the joint operation by Excise officials and border patrol police was carried out following tips-off that Yaman had…
- Environment News
Mae Hong Son continues to be plagued with fires
Mae Hong Son province continues to be plagued by forest fires despite the ban and the raging haze and smoke problems. In recent months, Mae Hong Son has been struggling with haze most of the time with flights to its airport limited at the height of the crisis. Exposure to the serious air pollution has become a threat to the…
- Phuket News
Legality of Seastead likely to be tested in an international court
The perceived naiveté of the team surrounding the seastead structure off Phuket’s south-east coast are about to be tested as the matter is likely to end up in an international court. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says that the Thai government has the right to demolish the floating sea home and welcomed the threat of a lawsuit by its builder, Ocean…
- South Thailand News
Eight fishing tour boats destroyed at southern pier
PHOTOS: The Nation A fire has destroyed eight tourist fishing boats in Satun province earlier today. Police report that the fire broke out at the Pak Bara pier and spread quickly from a fishing boat to seven other adjacent boats. The boats were used to take tourists out to fish in the sea. The pier is the take-off point for…
- Bangkok News
Newborn baby dumped beside garbage bins
FILE PHOTO A newborn baby has been found abandoned near rubbish bins in Chon Buri province, south-east of Bangkok, earlier today. 18 year old city sanitation worker, Anucha Boonkhai, has told police that he had loaded garbage from all the bins on Soi 4 of Ban Kao village in Tambon Ban Kao, Muang district, when he spotted a pile of…
- Phuket News
Phuket seastead will be removed today
The Third Naval Area Command will remove the seastead stationed off Phuket south-east coast today, belonging to an American bitcoin investor and seasteading innovators Ocean Builders. Thai authorities plan to seize the structure as evidence in a criminal case. They fear the structure will continue to be a navigation hazard if left there. US national Chad Elwartowski and his Thai…
- Phuket News
Immigration police interview Phuket’s ‘seasteader’
Immigration police says they’ve have questioned the American bitcoin investor who was involved in the setting up of the “seasteading” structure off the coast of Phuket and is facing criminal charges related to the waterborne homestead. Chad Andrew Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend, Suprenee Thepdet (aka Nadia Summergirl), launched their seastead project on February 2 off the coast of Phuket…
- Thailand Election News
New Economics Party clarifies their support for pro-democracy coalition
PHOTO: Mingkwan Sangsuwan, New Economics Party leader – The Nation Leader of the New Economics Party Mingkwan Sangsuwan hasy reiterated his party’s intention to join with the pro-democracy coalition (Pheu Thai, Future Forward) and against the pro-junta party, Phalang Pracharat. Amid uncertainty over which camp New Economics would work with after the election, Mingkwan has clarified he would not join…
- Thailand News
Ambulances must not exceed 80kph, except in emergencies
The Public Health Ministry’s directive to ensure ambulances keep below 80 kph only applies to non-emergency referral cases. The clarification issued today after a lot of criticism in social media. The ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Dr Prapon Tangsrikertikul, says… “The policy has been introduced to ensure the safety of those inside the ambulances. But, of course, drivers can use appropriate…
- Songkran News
Pattaya’s LONG Songkran comes to an end today
Whilst most of us have hung up our water pistols last Saturday or Sunday following Songkran revellry, punters in Pattaya have been hard at it all week. But after 9 days of water wastage and Songkran celebrations, the annual festivities come to a close in parades and official festivities today and tomorrow. Officially, according to the Pattaya Mail, April 19…
- Krabi News
Maya Bay to be closed for up to five years
Maya Bay’s beach, closed last year to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, could remain closed to visitors for many years. Maya Bay is located in the Phi Phi islands between Krabi and Phuket. The famous Koh Phi Phi Ley beach needs time for its ecology to fully recover years of tourist abuse, this according to the Phi Phi national…
- Environment News
Developer pulls the plug on 500 million baht retirement project in Chiang Mai
PHOTO: Sunshine International Retirement Residence & Serviced Apartment, Hua Hin Sunshine International, Thailand’s leading brand of retirement residences says that their project which was due to be constructed near Chiang Mai’s city centre has now been cancelled. Sunshine International, a retirement property that included around the clock medical facilities, on site doctors and nurses, and state of the art facilities,…
